Investing in impactful startups at Cherry Ventures and co-founded krisenchat, a free 24/7 crisis counseling service for young people via WhatsApp. 500+ counselors helped in 150,000+ crisis situations since 2020.
Julius de Gruyter co-founded krisenchat in 2020 when suicide rates among young people reached crisis levels during lockdowns. His platform now handles 150,000+ crisis situations annually with 500+ trained counselors. This hands-on experience building a social impact startup informs how de Gruyter evaluates investment opportunities at Cherry Ventures.
Beyond his investment work, Julius de Gruyter continues scaling krisenchat as a 24/7 crisis counseling service through WhatsApp that reaches teenagers when they need help most. De Gruyter looks for founders who solve real problems while building sustainable businesses that can grow without compromising their mission.
You'll see Julius de Gruyter's playbook for building mission-driven companies that scale profitably. Julius will show you how krisenchat achieved product-market fit in mental health, his strategies for recruiting and training counselors, and his framework for measuring both social impact and business metrics. How do you balance doing good with building a business that survives?
Join Julius de Gruyter at How to Web Conference 2025 to explore building technology that creates genuine social impact.
Other featured speakers
Andrei Dudoiu
CEO & Co-Founder @ SeedBlink @ SeedBlink
Andrei Dudoiu is the CEO and Co-Founder of SeedBlink, one of Europe’s most dynamic investment platforms focused on tech startups and equity management.
Alexander Agureev
Investor @ Northzone
Alex focuses on growth-stage companies across enterprise, fintech, and infrastructure & developers both in Europe and on the East Coast. He is particularly interested in verticalized solutions that cater to underserved market niches and have the potential to disrupt sleepy market incumbents.
Pavel Petrek
General Partner @ Tilia Impact Ventures
Pavel Petrek is the General Partner at Tilia Impact Ventures, the first impact venture capital fund in the Czech Republic, backing founders in Central and Eastern Europe who are solving the region’s most pressing social and environmental challenges.
Stefan Walter
Co-Founder & Managing Partner @ Nap
Stefan holds degrees in finance, tax law and business administration, and supports founders in areas such as funding, fundraising strategy, financial modeling, and investor communications.